Francis Asenso-Boakye with Shani Alhassan Shaibu at the Gariba lodge drainage in Tamale
The Minister for Works and Housing, Francis Asenso-Boakye, has inspected some drainage systems in Tamale, the Northern region.
The minister inspected the Kalariga, Vittin, Fuo, Gariba lodge and others drain in the Tamale metropolis.
Addressing journalists, Mr. Asenso-Boakye, indicated that his visit to the various drains is to get first-hand information about the state of the drains and to work on them immediately to avoid any perennial flooding during the rainy season.
According to him, the continuous dumping of waste into the drains prevents the free flow of water which ends up causing flooding when it rains, and called on residents to avoid dumping waste into the drains.
“ I have also seen some undersized culverts that need to be replaced to allow free flow of water and this trip has given me that understanding to engage the technical officers as we put plans in place to address drainage situation in Tamale.
We know that the Gariba lodge drainage is the main drainage channel in Tamale that connects from the city center to the Gariba lodge channel and we are going to consider it whatever we have seen here today in addressing the issue.”
The Minister, however, disclosed that the construction of drainage systems is capital intensive and assured that the government is committed to ensuring that they provide the necessary resources into drainage infrastructure.
“One of the actions the government is taking is to provide the right institutional framework to support drainage provision in this country and that is why the government is supporting the Ghana Hydrological Authority Bill which will provide the administrative and legal backing to support drainage provision in our country.”
The Northern Regional Minister, Shani Alhassan Shaibu, urged residents to maintain the operation ‘Clean Northern Region’ campaign slated for the last Saturday of every month to ensure that the environment is clean.
He was optimistic that some of the damaged drains will be fixed due to the visit of the Minister to the region.
FROM Eric Kombat, Tamale